Friday, 13 July 2012

Tour News: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

I’ve always enjoyed Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks. To the
contrary of many, and without sounding too controversial, I’d even go at lengths to say I enjoy their music just as
much as Pavement.

Stephen Malkmus seems more focused with this project. Hardly
surprising, taking into account maturity with age and all the other platitudes most us experience
in this life. With this, maybe it’s unfair to compare SM&Js and Pavement?
Given the latter’s cult status there’s always going to be that evaluation between
the respective projects or anything else Stephen artistically dabbles in.

SM&Js albums hold an impenetrable feel. Something not
really associated with Pavement and its slacker essence. Stephen Malkmus is probably my favourite album out the bunch, with Real Emotional Trash trailing not too
far behind. Pig Lib and Face The Truth are solid works, too.
Many even suggest that PL is the pinnacle
out of the bunch.

Mirror Traffic (Matador,
2011), their latest, left me a little
flat. I felt it was unfocused, perhaps a band running out of steam. However,
true to form, after hearing their announcement for the Brisbane Festival in
September, it was time for a revisit and 12 months down the track it started to
come together. Yes, impenetrable no more. This one just took a little longer, but
I finally got there. I’d slot it somewhere in between PL & FTT, which is
good enough for me. ‘Senator’got me
from the outset, but after revisiting, ‘Brain Gallop’, ‘All Over Gently’ and ‘Fall
Away’ also shape up to the quality we’ve come to expect. Summation: I’m a happy
camper and even happier with the below tour dates. You should be, too.